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Blood, Brackets, and Tears: An NCAA Basketball Wrap-Up

It is December 2010. You’re looking over your holiday gifts lists when there’s a loud pop behind you. You turn around to see… yourself, wearing slightly less clothing, hair mussed and eyes bloodshoot.

“I came from the future to warn you,” the apparition says. “Beware the brackets. UConn will win and destroy us all.”

“What?” you say. “Does Auriemma have some sort of world domination plan when the Huskies get to 100 straight wins?”

Future You sighs. “The men, stupid. The men will win and the women won’t. Everyone’s brackets will be in shambles. “

“Wait, so who wins on the women’s side? Stanford?”

“Texas A&M. Over Notre Dame.”

“You’re crazy.” You look at your future self. Why would you lie to …yourself? “But what else you got?”

“Butler and VCU will go far. No number 1 seeds will make the men’s Final Four. And don’t pick anyone but UConn from the Big E–” There’s another loud pop; you are alone again. After a moment’s thought, you decide you must have fallen asleep for a moment. It had to have been a dream, right? What does VCU even stand for?

Should have listened to Future You.

Well, that was an exceptionally bloody Bracket Brawl. (Almost as ugly and bruising as that men’s championship game.) Last year, everyone lost their champion before the final weekend; this year, everybody lost their entire Final Four by the time the regional finals were over. Everybody, that is, except for our own CuteSports, who triumphed by picking UConn into the Final Four. Yes, that’s right — picking just one Final Four team correctly won the Brawl. But it was just that kind of year — my family pool was won by my sister-in-law the same way.

The final standings:

1. CuteSports (tristarscoop) 600 pts

2. Raven 590 pts

3. The Blonde Bomber (mpowell) 530 pts

4. Courtknee35 (our top reader finisher) 510 pts

And, in keeping with the tradition started last year, CS gets a fittingly cute sports image:

(Someone actually sells these as stickers on Zazzle. Click on the link to see the page.)

Congratulations Aggies, Huskies, and CuteSports! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a space-time continuum to break.